Shoreline Naturalization

Healthy shorelines are vital to maintaining the overall health of Otty Lake. Shorelines help filter pollutants, protect against erosion, and provide habitat for fish and wildlife.

Common Signs of a Healthy Shoreline

Lots of native vegetation

Different levels of vegetation from taller trees to smaller shrubs and plants

Dead snags (underwater tree stumps or branches) and stones

Birds, fish and other wildlife

Common Signs of an Unhealthy Shoreline

Area(s) cleared of all or most vegetation

Lawn that extends right to the water’s edge

Natural shoreline replaced by a hardened structure

Problems such as shoreline erosion and poor water quality

Prominent algae blooms and excessive weed growth

Shoreline Buffers

A buffer is a permanent strip of vegetation along the shore that protects the water body from human impacts or natural processes. Otty Lake shoreline property owners can help keep our lake healthy by planting and maintaining a healthy shoreline buffer. Native shrubs and trees are adapted to local conditions, require no maintenance, and provide food and shelter for wildlife. For more, please see “The Importance of Vegetated Shoreline Buffers” by Murray Hunt.

Otty Lake Shoreline Assessment Report

The condition of the Otty Lake shoreline directly impacts on the health of Otty Lake. The Otty Lake Shoreline Assessment Summary Report, completed in the spring of 2015, is a new resource that provides baseline data that will help in the planning of future Otty Lake shoreline stewardship activities. The Report is a lake-wide summary of the information gathered through the 2013 Love Your Lake surveying of 474 Otty Lake shoreline properties (totaling 93.3 % of the Otty Lake shoreline). See the report.

Shoreline Handbook

In 2010, the OLA distributed 525 copies of the “Otty Lake Shoreline Handbook” to property owners around the lake. In this binder is practical information and references on healthy shorelines, wells, septic systems, wildlife and more. A number of updates have been provided to the handbook via the summer information packages. An electronic version is available here >>>

Shoreline Planting Program

2015 is the fifth year the OLA has offered shoreline plants to OLA members at a subsidized cost.

Plant requests are being accepted on a first come, first served basis. Members of the community can pick up their shrubs and wildflowers at Otty Lake on Saturday, July 4.

The wildflowers available in 2015 are: marsh milkweed, cardinal flower, blue flag iris, obedience plant and Canada anemone. Yellow loosestrife was added to the list in May. The shrubs will include ninebark, sweet gale, gray dogwood, smooth arrow-wood,and Bebb's willow. Pickup date is scheduled for Saturday, July 4, 2015. Contact Evelyn Dore or Gail Read for details. See order form.

Love Your Lake Property Surveys

The Love Your Lake Property Surveys done in summer 2013 and distributed in the spring of 2014 offer property specific recommendations on how to maintain your shoreline.

Love Your Lake Free Naturalizations

The Love Your Lake program received some additional funding from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that made it possible to offer free shoreline naturalizations to a number of properties. Seven property owners were selected to take advantage of the consultation, planting plan, plants and planting assistance available through the Centre for Sustainable Watersheds. The work was done by early fall of 2014, and had a total value of $7,975. Two of the properties are shown below.